Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor and former American football player. He is perhaps best known for playing Julius on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris and for his appearances in Old Spice commercials,Arrested Development, The Newsroom and for his roles in films like Friday After Next, White Chicks, Bridesmaids, Idiocracy, Gamer, and The Expendables. He has starred as Nick Kingston-Persons in the TBS sitcom Are We There Yet? and as himself in the BET reality seriesThe Family Crews. He currently plays NYPD Sergeant Terry Jeffords on the Fox sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He is set to be the newest host for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game show.

Early life

Crews was born in Flint, Michigan, the son of Patricia and Terry Crews, Sr. He grew up in a strict Christian household, where he was raised mainly by his mother.[citation needed] After earning his high school diploma from Flint Southwestern Academy, he received aChrysler-sponsored art scholarship at the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. This achievement was soon followed by an Art Excellence scholarship and a full-ride athletic scholarship for football at Western Michigan University. As a defensive end for the WMU Broncos, Crews earned All-Conference honors and helped his team win the Mid-American Conference Championship in 1988.

NFL career

Crews was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 11th round of the 1991 NFL Draft. His career included stints with the Rams, the San Diego Chargers, the Washington Redskins, and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Acting career

After retiring from the NFL in 1997, Crews pursued an acting career and got a role as T-Money on Battle Dome. He later had roles in films such as White Chicks, Friday After Next, Training Day, Soul Plane, The Longest Yard, Click, and The Benchwarmers. He has made many cameo appearances; he was in Blink-182's music video for "Down" as a police officer and in Jamie Kennedy's "Rollin' with Saget" as a security guard.

He has been featured in several Old Spice TV commercials for their "Odor Blocker Body Wash", their body sprays, deodorant and most recently, their shaving lotion. The ads are directed by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim.[5] He has also done commercials with Nike. He starred in his own reality series on BET, The Family Crews, about his everyday life with his family. The show premiered on February 21, 2010.

Personal life[edit]

With his wife of 24 years, Rebecca King-Crews, a former beauty queen and gospel recording artist, Crews has four daughters (Azriel, Tera, Wynfrey, and Naomi Burton) and one son (Isaiah). He has one grandchild, as one of his children is a stepdaughter from Rebecca's previous relationship.